Rising Basilisk Empire, Svebrial. As one of the most prosperous cities in Crunaboul, Svebrial was always busy. But today a new level has been reached. Players were flocking to the city, clogging up the streets. The situation grew worse and worse until C opened three instances to accommodate all the players. Finally, one could at least move again.
However, the surroundings of the arena remained bustling as new players pushed from behind. Everyone was excited for the confrontation between GalanTen and Hotpot. Would the server's number one team meet their match today?
"There is no way Hotpot is going to lose this! Just look at how long GalanTen took for the dungeon!"
"Yes! My hero Radiant Shield won't allow those villains to hurt his friends!"
"Cyclone will cook them with her lightning!"
Listening to the crowd one would quickly realize that Hotpot's supporters had the upper hand. If someone dared to speak up to criticize them, they would immediately be drowned out.
This was not surprising. Originally GalanTen was able to garner support from people who wanted to see someone shake things up or players jealous of Hotpot. But after the failed challenge their reputation took quite a hit.
Now, this upcoming fight, albeit not part of the original plan, was their chance at redemption. For this everyone on the team was fully focused. Even Henragon didn't let his emotions get the better of him.
GalanTen stood in front of the arena, their arms crossed in front of their chests. Their luxurious armours sparkled in the sunlight, their blades gleaming sharply. Mana gathered around their mages, spontaneously creating tiny sparkles. Everyone looking at them understood where their pride came from. Just from appearance alone one could tell that GalanTen was indeed a dangerous opponent to have.
"It's already time. Where are they?", asked Henragon, his deep voice sounding impatient.
"They couldn't have gotten cold feet, right?", murmured the female assassin Gege.
"Patience is a virtue. Calm your mind and you will win a thousand battles. Our enemies are fighting psychological battles. We are at a disadvantage. The challenge shouldn't have been lost. Our iron will is to be forged!"
Some of the spectators had strange expression as they stared at the man who had just spoken. He was a tall high elf, his expression extremely refined, reminiscent of a scholar of the Xia Dynasty. His pristine white robes bore the symbol of the goddess of light. He was GalanTen's healer, Occulus.
"I never thought GalanTen could be so… quirky."
"I know, right? They came out of nowhere, overtaking everyone. I imagined hardened warriors with six arms and four heads, extremely fierce. But this…"
"Look at their mage. He seems to fall asleep any second now."
"Yeah, and what is with the name of that wood elf? CUwUty?"
Suddenly an extremely piercing gaze fell on the player who had just spoken. His body froze and he felt as if his name had been marked in the book of death.
CUwUty smacked her whip, the crisp sound sending chills down everyone's spine. Afterwards she snorted and looked away again. She hated people making fun of her name the most. The name was chosen by her cute little sister, and she carried it with pride. How dare some random no-names comment on it?
"It's all Hotpot's fault for making us wait."
SpireX nodded lightly. The team captain stood at the front, his magnificent beard swaying in the wind. He noticed the mood among his team members declining by the second. Obviously, he was displeased as well. Hotpot's unpunctuality was quite disrespectful.
Suddenly there was a commotion among the crowd. A path opened up and a group of ten appeared.
At the front walked Silver Blade and Radiant Shield, the tanks proudly displaying their thick, impenetrable armours. Next were Liam, Quickstep, and Watchful Eye, walking with heads held high, their sheathed weapons radiating immense danger. Fortune, Cyclone, Silent Acacia, and Balm followed, surrounded by spontaneously gathering mana, holy light, and with a small, black winged tiger hovering around Silent Acacia. And at the back walked Bloody Edge, like a silent shadow, his face hidden below a black hood.
"Hotpot is here! Hotpot!!"
"AHH! Silver Blade! I'm such a big fan!"
"Mirage! Here, here! My phone number! Call me!"
"Radiant Shield! My hero on the way to his destined battle!"
"Fortune! I have watched all your videos! Twice! Please, just smile at me! Only one smile and I can die happy!"
The scene instantly heated up, which was naturally noticed by GalanTen's members. However, they showed their professionalism at this moment. Instead of getting angry they forcefully calmed themselves down, shaking off the influence of the crowd.
Liam instantly noticed the subtle signs. He looked at his friends who were happily waving at the fans and warned them to get serious. The smiles were suppressed one by one. Hotpot reached the front of the crowd, coming to a stop, silently confronting GalanTen.
Sparks of tension filled the air. The two teams scrutinized each other. While Hotpot had been in the spotlight since the beginning, there was almost nothing known about GalanTen. Liam and his friends tried to gleam some information from the weapons their opponents were wielding.
"Hotpot!"
After a few seconds it was SpireX who broke the silence. Liam's friends directed their eyes on him. He took a step forward and nodded in greeting:
"GalanTen."
At this moment thousands of eyes were on Liam but he was already used to it.
"Took your time…"
"We were busy."
As he said this, Liam noticed the corners of Henragon's mouth twitching. He was surprised. There was a simple reason why Hotpot was late. It was because Cyclone was fed up with GalanTen's tone. And her friends shared the sentiment.
At the start, GalanTen came out of nowhere, pressuring everyone to compete for the dungeon first clear. After losing, they didn't accept it and challenged Hotpot to a PvP battle. Next, after finally returning from the dungeon, GalanTen matter-of-factly scheduled the fight without asking Hotpot. To say it in Cyclone's words:
"Who do they think they are? They expect us to be there just because they say so?"
At that point all of the friends were somewhat fed up with GalanTen. Thus, when Cyclone proposed to delay on purpose the others agreed. There was no devious plan to impact the opponent's mental. But GalanTen was seemingly not unaffected.
"Whatever. Are you ready for a fight? Our fingers are itching."
SpireX tightened the grip on his two axes as he said so.
"Of course. What are the rules?"
"Originally, I planned for a best of three team battle. However, some of my friends are quite eager to test their skills against the number one player of the federation. Thus, I give you a choice. Should we hold a few one versus one matches, or immediately start with the team matches?"
Liam raised his brows. He could feel the piercing gaze of CUwUty. Was it her who wanted to challenge him? Quite confident…
Glancing over his shoulder the veteran instantly noticed the eager eyes of Quickstep and Silent Acacia. Obviously those two couldn't wait to beat up GalanTen. After a brief discussion in the chat the friends came to an agreement.
"Let's do it like that. Each team chooses three people for one versus one battles. Whoever loses, is out. If all three competitors are eliminated, the team loses."
This was actually in Hotpot's favour. Before coming here, they had already discussed a strategy. They wanted to gather as much information as possible early. The one versus one fights were a great opportunity.
"Easy. Sure."
The rules were quickly agreed upon. Finally, the two teams were ready to fight. The atmosphere reached a boiling point as the spectators cheered for their favourite players.
The first to move was the female assassin Gege. She confidently approached the arena, creating a match. One versus One. Random terrain.
Because of the challenge, there was a big hype around PvP battles at the moment. The list of ongoing matches was quite long. And yet the match created by Gege immediately shot at the top of the list as thousands of spectators surged in. The audience ranks filled up quickly and C had to continuously enlarge the arena. An atmosphere reminiscent of the federation tournament ensued.
GalanTen and Hotpot disappeared as well. They sat in the audience, staring at the arena floor below. Immediately Quickstep let out a gasp. She saw Silent Acacia facing Gege on a narrow street. The scenery around them was that of a small town. Narrow streets and houses blocking the view. It was rather unfavourable for the ranged fighter Silent Acacia.
"How unfair!"
"Are they cheating?"
"No, the terrain has been chosen randomly. We can only say that Silent Acacia is too unlucky."
Standing on the arena floor Silent Acacia couldn't hear the audience. His expression soured for a moment as he surveyed his surroundings. However, he quickly adjusted his mind. As a professional he had to be able to fight no matter the circumstances. He stared at Gege opposite from him. The two opponents nodded at each other and the fight officially started.